The Cold Shower Effect
by AkaruiTenshi
Summary: Shor Oneshot: Inspired on Lloyd's Black Heart Event: Anita visists Lloyd early one morning to find hism searching for a lost invoice. Can she help him? Rated K  for safety.  Nothing funny here! :3 No dirty minds!


**Here's another short Lloyd/Anita(Gretel) Oneshot, people! I'd like to thank Rayna for her review to my other Harvest Moon story, 'Pink Diamond Storm'. It really inspired me to make this one! Hope you all like it! x3**

**Warning: FLUFF!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, zero, zip, nada. T_T**

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><p><strong>The Cold Shower Effect<strong>

In a small farm near the edge of Zephyr Town, the lights on the windows of a house suddenly flicked on. Footsteps on hardwood were heard, along with the slamming of a door and the long sigh of relief as the sound of running water rushed out in the early morning silence. Then a sharp intake of breath and…

"_Aaaaaaahhh!_"

The hot water had run out, giving the poor farmer a very icy wake up call. Another door slammed and a female silhouette was seen through the window as it hastily pulled on some clothes.

At last, she exited the cottage dressed in pink and blues with a green watering can in hand. Yawning, she lazily walked over to her field and watered her crops, almost drowning a few as she nearly fell asleep on her feet. Splashing her face with the cool well water, the golden blonde shook her head.

"I _hate_ early mornings!" she groaned.

It was ironic, since she had to wake up at six o'clock every day, but, who could blame her?

After pushing her stubborn calf out of the barn and unceremoniously dumping her two chicks in their pen, the petite woman stretched and glanced at her watch.

_'Hmm, record time,'_ she thought._ 'It's only seven thirty.' _

Deciding on her next course of action, she walked away from her farm, hoping to catch a few of the early risers of the village before they left for the city.

As she walked down the hill, she stuffed a few branches and caged bugs into her rucksack to sell to Raul later. She couldn't find any flowers or herbs, but she wasn't in a hurry. The bazaar was yesterday, and she had the whole week left to prepare for the next one.

Finally, she arrived at her first destination: a quaint log house near the waterfall and windmill.

As she raised her fist to knock on the door, she heard a voice mumble, "Huh? Where's the invoice?"

The shuffling of papers and books followed.

"Uh oh…"

A frustrated sigh.

"I can't pick it up without that invoice."

Discarding the politeness of knocking, the blonde walked in uninvited.

"Can't pick what up without what invoice?" she asked.

A man in a black tunic with blue designs on it jumped slightly and whipped around to face her, black hair almost whipping his face and glasses flashing in the light.

"Oh…It's you. You startled me," he said.

She laughed sheepishly and fiddled with the strap of her bag at his annoyed stare.

"Sorry, Lloyd."

She cocked her head to the side, violet eyes gleaming with curiosity.

"What were you doing?" she inquired.

_'I already know, but it won't hurt to ask,' _her mind said.

He seemed genuinely surprised at her interest, before adjusting his glasses and looking at her nonchalantly, ruby eyes empty and uninterested.

"Well, I need to pick up an item to sell at the bazaar," he said as a frustrated look overtook the indifferent façade. "However, I've lost the invoice!"

He composed himself and tugged at the off-white shawl around his neck.

"If I can't get that rug, I won't have anything to sell at the bazaar," he concluded.

At this, Lloyd ground his teeth and turned to face the bookcase, moving books here and there.

"Ugh. This is frustrating," he huffed.

The thin girl stared at him for a while, having a mental battle with herself.

_'I could help him,' _she pondered._ 'But that way, I'll have to wait until the evening to catch up to Ivan, Freya, and Claude…But, he really needs that invoice…Fine.'_

"I'll help you look!"

He swiveled on his foot, once again looking genuinely surprised, before a tiny, microscopic smile laced his lips. It was so small, the blonde had to practically squint to see it. A mere twitch of the corners of his mouth.

"Really? Thank you," he said while pointing to a pile of suitcases in his bedroom. "Can you try searching over there?"

Grinning enthusiastically, the petite woman nodded before power walking to his room, a bit of excitement creeping through her veins at the thought of being able to breach her mysterious neighbor's walls.

She carefully opened each suitcase and rifled through its contents. There were a variety of things inside each bag, ranging from tiny ores to expensive looking clothing, but no invoice. The little piece of paper seemed to be a ghost, and by the time she'd finished looking through each bag, she felt like she'd been searching for hours.

She let out a sneeze at the dust bunny that had crept out a corner and tickled her nose, before getting off the floor, only to find that her right foot had fallen asleep. She shook the limb vigorously, even going as far to hop around the room, only to fall flat on her face when she got tangled up the carpet. She quickly got up and dusted herself off, hoping Lloyd hadn't heard that.

"You okay?"

She blushed and looked at Lloyd, trying to swallow her embarrassment.

"I'm fine, just tripped."

His eyebrows scrunched up a bit, before he looked blankly at her.

"Be careful, Anita."

The woman just nodded slightly, anyone could have confused the movement for a twitch. Lloyd turned and left, but Anita didn't move until the red sash that was tied around his cadet blue turban disappeared.

"Look in the kitchen next!" he said.

Determined not to have another embarrassing accident, Anita watched her steps as she exited Lloyd's bedroom and entered the kitchen.

_'Please don't let anything fall! Please don't let anything fall!' _she mentally chanted.

She moved every china piece with uttermost care, placing each plate, glass, and cup gently back into its place after inspecting it. Letting out a relieved sigh, she set onto the second shelf. The coffee maker was heavy, the fruits liked to dance in her hands, and a few seasonings were eager to be spilled, but she was successful and none fell. Sadly, her efforts were in vain, for the invoice refused to come out of hiding.

"Now for the cabinets…"

Just as she reached out to open the cabinet door, she heard a very loud, very relieved, "Oh, I found it!" from the living room.

The noise startled her, so she jumped and bumped her head on the top sill of the cupboard, sending one of the more expensive looking plates flying. Yelping, she caught it just before it hit the floor and placed it back with its brethren, sighing with relief and giving it the evil eye. She then turned on her heel and ran to the living room, where Lloyd was carefully inspecting a small sheet of paper: the invoice had finally given up and shown itself.

Ruby eyes gave Anita a slight apologetic look.

"Sorry about the hassle," he mumbled and held up a pair of books, one burgundy and heavy looking, the other beige and small. "I can't believe it slipped between these two books."

Anita couldn't suppress her giggles and peals of laughter echoed from the walls, the sound pulling a soft grin from the robed man. Lloyd coughed lightly after a while, gaining Anita's attention. She wiped her eyes, a giggle escaping here and there, before she composed herself.

"Thanks for your help," he murmured.

Anita smiled, her eyes glowing happily.

"Anytime Lloyd."

He smirked.

"I'll see you around, Anita."

She gave him an even bigger grin, before reaching over and pecking his cheek. Amethyst orbs widening to size of dinner plates and a blush creeping up her neck, Anita started backing away towards the door.

"Oh-I'm-I mean- I didn't- Bye Lloyd!"

And with that she ran full tilt out of the house.

_'What on Earth possessed me to do that?'_

Anita's face became redder than the red tiling on the mayor's roof as she recalled the innocent, yet unconscious action.

_'He's gonna hate me!'_

"_Gaaahh!_ Stupid, early morning cold shower! This is _all_ its fault!"

Too bad she hadn't notice the light dusting of pink on Lloyd's nose and cheeks, or the gentle smile he had plastered on his face when she left. Ah, well; maybe next time.

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><p><strong>That's a wrap! Hope you liked it! Reviews are very much appreciated! xD - AkaruiTenshi 3<strong>


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